Customer Reviews

Judgment Day: A Novel

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have enjoyed Wanda Dyson's books in the past and was really looking forward to this book. Since I was reading this book based on the author and not the content I didn't read the back of the book first, I just read and enjoyed every moment of the book. Great plot, wonderfully flawed characters (I hate perfect characters) and enough twists and turns to keep me flipping the pages fast! Wanda is a master of letting the reader in on somethings while holding just enough back to make us beg for more. One interesting note... after finishing the book I turned it over to finally read the back cover copy and see if it did the book justice. Well, I was a little surprised to see that it names the wrong dead person in Suzanne's house... a minor detail since who it named as dead is actually a main antagonist for a large part of the book! Someone missed that mark on that one (I bet it gets changed before the reprint), but Wanda wrote a book that I truly enjoyed.

Have you ever watched that show TMZ (I think that is what it is called)? Where they basically are reporting gossip about celebrities and calling it "news". Well, the main character reminded me of those reporters. Susan is reporter that isn't really reporting on celebrities but she was basically reporting information that she couldn't fully back up. She was accusing people of things without full proof. She is judging w/o the facts.

Then one day it all blows up in her face when she comes home to find someone unconscious and then they die and she is blamed. Everyone starts to judge her and she turns to her ex-fiancé' who is a detective for help.

This story was just okay for me. Not sure what to say about it. I enjoyed the crime that was described; it was very unique and kept the plot very entertaining. However, I never really connected at all with the characters. I barely remember their names even right after putting the book down. I also noticed a lot of holes in the story and way too many characters involved to keep them all straight.
The main character Susan was a snob and she drove me nuts. I didn't find her sob story very convincing and I didn't believe her turnaround either, she was just unconvincing and unlovable.

I wanted very much too really like the two detectives, Alex and Marcus, but again they just fell short. Marcus was not a memorable person, he didn't seem like a strong lead guy and he being a detective wasn't described well. Also, the fact that Alex and Marcus were supposed to be Christians was just not believable.

Again, the plot was unique. The crime was fascinating and I had no trouble reading the book or enjoying the suspense and mystery involved. I just found the characters to be dull and boring and I just didn't connect with the story.

I do think other readers would enjoy this, especially those that like mystery and suspense.
WaterbrookMultnomah provided me with a review copy of this book. I received no other compensation, and all opinions about the book are my own.

Judgment Day: A Novel


I thought the plot line was excellent and fast moving and I enjoyed the story thoroughly. I was able to get wrapped up in it easily enough though I felt that the story itself would've been far easier for me to enjoy and become flabbergasted if I were twenty years younger and not already desensitized to all the atrocities life has to offer. Forgive me for the moment of cynicism.
Wanda, the story line is absolutely incredible but I believe you could've done far more with it. You have the talent, use it. You were able to weave an in-depth tale of gaining wisdom and self-discovery though I did have a little bit of trouble getting into the beginning because I thought that though you brought several story lines into the same book and I admire that because it shows that you have the talent to place yourself in multiple situations at one time, the emotions and consequently the characters in the beginning lacked depth because you didn't seem to feel comfortable placing yourself in the role of the character about whom you wrote. If you're going to write from the point of view of a villain, be the villain and likewise with the saint. You gave so much to the self-discovery of the main character and made me empathize and relate to her very well toward the end, make me hate the villain too.
I also felt that some of the characters were somewhat typecast and nothing less than what one would expect of a modern day ass-kicking ball-busting heroine who has no problem firing a weapon but can't seem to get in touch with her "feminine side". She's is just as likely to strap a holster and firearm to the inside of her thigh underneath the ballgown she's wearing while simultaneously putting on glamour makeup and styling her hair flawlessly and can't help but pull it all off with aplomb. There's also the hero that's so lost in not crossing her and getting on her bad side that he'll refuse to stand up for himself and seems to look at her like she's the greatest creature on God's green earth anyway.
All in all, the story was relatively clean aside from some sketchy violence and I appreciated that there were no tawdry scenes that normally occupy one spot or another in a mystery thriller though I believe that there was missing character development and most of the journey of the main character brings to mind the line, "None are so blind as those who choose not to see." Though I didn't absolutely love it, I liked the story and think it suits well for an evening of light pleasure reading if a person has a few hours to spare.

We all, whether we want to admit it or not, like to see the corrupt get their due. "Why do the wicked prosper?" we ask, with Jeremiah, wondering why the righteous suffer and the just suffer. But every now and then, we see a story in the paper or on the evening news which makes us cheer, bringing to light the deeds done in darkness by people who should know better. Suzanne Kidwell doesn't necessarily have a great moral compass, but she knows that TV viewers like to see the sins of the high and mighty exposed for all to see. With a taste for what sells, and some questionable tactics, she rakes in the ratings on her hit show, Judgement Day.

Kidwell thinks she's above the fray, one of those who moves in a different moral universe than the rest of us. She tells a good story, but her shoddy investigative techniques inevitably bring more attention to her than she wants. When her car explodes with her fiance at the wheel, was the assassination meant for her or him? When his nurse turns up murdered in Kidwell's home, with Kidwell's fingerprints all over the bloody knife, she feels trapped. Who would frame her for murder? Was it a story she had done? Was it a story she should had yet to do? With nowhere else to turn, her lawyer brings in the best investigation team around, Kidwell's ex-fiance, Marcus Crisp, and his partner, Alexandria Fisher-Hawthorne. Kidwell swallows her pride and relies on this man, whom she had betrayed in college, to uncover the truth.

Judgment Day is Dyson's fifth novel, and, just as Suzanne has learned to string her audience along, Dyson skillfully strings her audience along with page-turning action, plot twists, and suspenseful surprises. As is the case with many a suspense novel, Judgment Day packs in so many twists and turns, so many random connections between events and characters, and so many improbable events, that there is an air of the unbelievable about the story. But, forgiving the excesses of the genre, Dyson wraps a moral message around the plot.

Events toss Suzanne headlong into a forced reconsideration of her methods as a reporter. Do the ends justify the means? In some cases, she may have, through her unsavory investigative techniques, rightfully brought truly despicable public figures to justice. In many cases, though, she inaccurately or downright wrongly convicted people in her personal court of justice for the sake of TV ratings, sometimes with tragic results. Has it all been worth it?

Then, on a deeper level, the murder investigation begins to unravel the details of crimes more insidious than even she imagined. The perpetrators insist what they are doing is right. But can it be justified? What if their crimes might benefit Suzanne's own mother? Her moral reflections contrast with the faith and moral integrity of Marcus and Alex, whose faith guides their lives and their careers as investigators. Things might not have worked out the way Suzanne would have planned, but justice wins out in the end.

I know, and I suspect Dyson knows, that Judgment Day is not a literary masterpiece. This will not go down in history with Wuthering Heights and Of Mice and Men. But Dyson does craft a compelling page turner, with a thoughtful moral message to boot. Check it out.

WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group sent Judgment Day for free for me to review. Don't worry, they didn't force me to say nice things. I enjoyed the book!

Judgment Day
By Wanda L. Dyson
Paperback
340 Pages
Copyright 2010
Publisher: Waterbrook Press

This book is my first exposure to Wanda Dyson's writing and it didn't let me down. It is a mystery thriller with a light touch of romance and a hint of Christian morals. The lead character, Suzanne Kidwell, is a highly-rated, though hardly highly regarded, TV anchor that reports on sensational news stories but doesn't necessarily verify her information.

Her life and career take some serious twists and turns when 1) her boyfriend is killed in a car bomb explosion while driving her vehicle; 2) several young people turn up missing; 3) she comes home to find a seriously injured man on her floor, he later dies, she finds herself waking next to the body, and she is blamed for the murder. Her only chance of clearing herself is to take her attorney's advice and hire the two top private investigators - one of which happens to be her ex-fiancé. The tension builds as the mysteries unfold and run together in a deadly mix of murder and black market activity.
I felt the characters could have been developed better, but I enjoyed them nevertheless. The Christian aspect was so minimal as to be barely noticeable. I think the author missed an opportunity to develop the moral theme and the chance for Suzanne to find faith at the end. She started to lead up to that, but never finished the task.

I rate this book a 4/5 because it kept me up all of one night and part of the next as I raced through it, unable to put it down except to get some much-needed sleep! I love a good thriller and this had enough surprises and took some unexpected avenues that kept me guessing, not so much as to who was the bad guy, but what exactly his crime was!

Disclosure of Material Connection: "I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review". I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Our Giveaways are in no way sponsored or promoted by Facebook. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 [...] : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Wanda L. Dyson has a new fan.... me! This is the first time I have ever read one of her books and I am hooked.

Judgement Day is so fast paced and the characters are so interesting that I found myself holding my breath in anticipation of what was going to happen next.

Suzanne Kidwell is a rating-getting reporter on a cable news show Judgement Day. Her style of fact gathering on business men, religious leaders and politicians causes a backlash on her own life and actions. When her fiance dies in a fatal car accident, she discovers information that ties him, a prominent politician and doctors to a dark enterprise that will bring her facing her own judgement day.

Extremely well written, with a plot that will keep any reader riveted, Judgement Day is one of the best suspense novels I have read in a long time. I agree with other people when they say it's "high octane from the start."



Wanda L. Dyson lives on a working horse farm in Maryland, boarding and keeping a menagerie of critters. She is the author of four acclaimed suspense novels, including Shepherd's Fall, and she is the co-author of Why I Jumped, the true story of Tina Zahn.

You can read more about her and her work on her website: [...]

Judgement Day is available in both Trade paperback and e-book format.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.Judgment Day: A Novel

Judgement Day opens with a quotation from John Connor, leader of the human resistance in the Terminator movies: "It was never about avoiding judgment day. It was all about surviving it". I've always loved sci-fi books and movies, so this had to be a good start! (Don't worry - this is not a sci-fi book. It is Christian fiction, although the Christian element is quite understated and not at all preachy).

Suzanne Kidwell is the presenter of a TV crime show, Judgement Day. She believes she won't "get anywhere in life unless she was willing to be a little ruthless, a little mercenary, and [have] a whole lot of ambition", but it seems that no everyone agrees with her, as her producer is giving her trouble about not sufficiently checking her sources, and her boyfriend, surgeon Dr Guy Mandeville, is pressuring her to give up her career and get married. However, this little problem is soon sorted when Guy is killed while driving Suzanne's car - the car loses control and explodes, and Guy's distraught mother has her removed from the funeral service.

Suzanne's life then goes from bad to worse when she wakes up one morning to the sound of the police banging on her door - and a dead body beside her. Needless to say, she is charged with murder, and the police consider the investigation closed. To prove her innocence, her attorney refers her to the private detective agency run by close friends Marcus Crisp and Alexandria Rachelle Fisher-Hawthorne (Alex). Oops. Suzanne and Marcus were engaged in college, the relationship did not end well, and Alex is initially hostile towards Suzanne and reluctant to take the case because of this history. But there are indications that Suzanne the victim of a conspiracy, and this persuades them to take the case (assisted by a sizeable advance from Willard Mandeville, Guy's father). What follows is a high-octane thriller as Marcus and Alex work with Suzanne to solve the mystery before anyone else gets hurt.

While Judgement Day is a thriller rather than a romance, there is a strong thread of romantic tension between Marcus and Alex running through the novel. They have been friends since college, business partners for six years, and somewhere in that they have each developed romantic feelings for the other, but neither want to take the risk of revealing or acting on this. I thought it was extremely clever how Dyson managed to convey this tension without spelling it out in words, and without wanting to give away any spoilers, the ending was more than satisfying! Overall, a very enjoyable novel, and I would certainly be interested in reading more about Marcus, Alex and their PI work.

Thanks to Waterbrook Multnomah and Blogging for Books for providing a free ebook for review.

Suzanne Kidwell is a reporter/Anchor on a television program called JUDGMENT DAY where she reports on stories in a judgmental way based on hearsay not facts. It seems the Biblical verse You sow what you reap comes into play here or does it?

Things for Suzanne start to go wrong with the death/murder of her boyfriend who was killed while driving her car, an accident that was meant for her.She seeks help from her ex-fiance from 18 years ago who she betrayed who is now a private investigator to find who wanted her dead and why. The things he finds out involve her dead boyfriend's father, a senator and a district attorney who are involved in a very profitable illegal business that kidnaps teenagers (no not that one) to meet their customers needs.this novel flows smoothly with all the characters and their life situations flowing together within the main plot.The author has written a very believable realistic and scary story. Go out and get this book but leave yourself a lot a time because you will want to finish it in one sitting.

I received this book from Waterbrook Multnamah Publishing Group for this review.

Suzanne Kidwell is one of those characters you love to hate. A self-absorbed princess of tabloid journalism, Kidwell thinks nothing of cutting corners to get headlines for her show Judgment Day. But when a body turns up in her apartment, it looks like the tables have been turned. Suzanne's only hope is the ex-boyfriend she betrayed--private investigator Marcus Crisp.

I enjoyed the plot and pacing of the book. The mystery unfolds nicely and there are plenty of twists and turns along the way. I found the characterization a little lacking, however. Marcus and his partner Alexandria feel like something out of a T.V cop show, and Alexandria dances pretty close to being a Mary Sue with all her gutsy, perfect aim, blond firecracker-ness rolled into one package. In some ways Suzanne is the most likeable of the characters--especially as she grows up a little toward the end of the novel.

So overall, I liked it, but it's one of those 'brain candy' novels. Works for a quick escape, but I won't be coming back to it for a re-read. It's okay, but there are better books out there in this genre.

Judgment Day - Modern Fiction
By Wanda Dyson

Suzanne Kidwell is an investigative reporter with shoddy research tactics who is about to get herself in major trouble. She finds herself framed for murder and stuck in jail. Suzanne's lawyer recommends hiring an excellent private investigator to look for evidence to prove Suzanne innocent and find the person responsible for the murder. It turns out the best PI for the case is Suzanne's ex-fiancé, Marcus Crisp and his family fortune heiress partner, Alex Fisher-Hawthorne. As the investigation begins, they uncover pieces of a black-market operation that puts all of their lives in danger. Will they survive long enough to interlock the puzzle pieces and bring the perpetrators to justice? "I'm Suzanne Kidwell. And this is Judgment Day."

I thought this story was well written and entertaining; however I didn't find myself engrossed in the book. I found the character development to be a little lacking which I think contributed to the detachment from the book. The storyline was understandable with twists and turns. I think faith in God should have been a much bigger focus in the book. It was mentioned here and there, but not expounded upon. The main character Suzanne is pictured as an egotistical woman who is totally self-reliant. Toward the end of the book she has a slight change of heart, but I feel the author missed an opportunity to have her find real faith in God. Overall, I would give the book a B - good read, but not a must read.

I received a free e-book copy of this novel from the publisher for my honest review of the book.